Vietnam was Singapore’s largest rice export partner during the first quarter of the year, accounting for 32.03% of the island state’s overall market share, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Singapore, VOV reported.
Meanwhile, India and Thailand ranked second and third with their market shares in Singapore standing at 6.96% and 8.28% respectively.
Statistics compiled by Singaporean agencies also indicate that Vietnamese rice exports to the this market throughout the reviewed period grew well, with turnover reaching over USD 26.5 million, up 80.46% compared to the same period last year.
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| In March 2024, Vietnam’s rice exports increased by 99.7 per cent in volume and 90% in turnover compared to February 2024. Photo: VNA |
Most notably, apart from advantageous Vietnamese products such as white rice, other product categories such as sticky rice and milled fragrant rice have also risen to dominate the majority of the market share of 80.08% and 73.33% in the Singaporean market, respectively.
As a result, Vietnam outperformed other exporters such as Thailand and India to become Singapore’s largest rice supplier.
India recently prohibited export of non-basmati white rice starting from July 20, which has further opened up opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to increase its export to Singapore.
Industry insiders point out that Vietnamese businesses are required to continue to improve their competitiveness whilst ensuring the quality of rice products to make further inroads into the market.
The signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for rice cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore is anticipated to become an effective tool for maintaining the leading position of Vietnamese rice products in the Singapore market, they say.
Overall, Vietnam in the first quarter of 2024 exported 2.18 million tonnes of rice, earning USD 1.43 billion, an increase of 17.6% in volume and 45.5% in value year on year. Meanwhile, the average export rice price also increased by 23.6% to USD 653.9 per tonne.
VNA citied preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, in March 2024, Vietnam’s rice exports increased by 99.7% in volume and 90% in turnover compared to February 2024, reaching over 1.12 million tonnes valued at USD 709.6 million.
The rice exports last year witnessed a breakthrough, with volume reaching 8.1 million tonnes worth USD 4.7 billion, up 14.4% in volume and 35.3% in value compared to the previous year. This is a record high export for Vietnam’s rice industry.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as of January 22, 2024, Vietnam had 161 eligible traders to export rice.
Ho Chi Minh City is the locality with the most rice exporters, with 36 traders. Followings are Can Tho (34 traders), Long An (22), Dong Thap (15) and An Giang (14).
Some other localities have only one trader qualified to export rice, including Ha Nam, Hau Giang, Khanh Hoa, Lang Son and Thanh Hoa.
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